Wild Ones
by Dragontreasure26
Summary: Stiles didn't tell Scott just how well he knew Derek Hale, in fact he pretended he didn't know him at all and hid a whole part of his life he'd never told him about.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Wild Ones

**Characters/Pairings:** Eventual Derek/Stiles, past Derek and Stiles friendship. Scott /Allison, Jackson /Lydia, Danny, Sheriff Stilinksi, Melissa McCall, Chris Argent, Victoria Argent, Kate Argent, Coach Finstock, Peter Hale, Dr. Deaton, Talia Hale, Laura Hale, Cora Hale and other OC Hale family members.

**Summary:** Stiles didn't tell Scott just how well he knew Derek Hale, in fact he pretended he didn't know him at all and hid a whole part of his life he'd never told him about.

**Warnings:** Spoilers for Series 1, swearing, smut, underage.

A/N: This fic features an alternative version of Series 1 and flashbacks where Stiles and Derek have known each other since Stiles was four years old. I've made Derek a little younger than he appears in the canon just to fit the story; he is three years older than Stiles. For reference I date the "present" as 2011 as this is when Series 1 first aired.

**Chapter 1**

Present ...

Stiles kicked his way through the leaf litter as he trudged through the woods belonging to Beacon Hills reserve trying to think of a better way to tell his friend what had become of him. Scott had received the bite, he was a werewolf now, and Stiles didn't know how to tell him. They'd become instant friends from the moment Scott had moved into Beacon Hills two years ago, moving to the relatively small town from the big city after his parents' divorce. Stiles remembered Scott moaning constantly in his first few weeks about the quietness of Beacon Hills "nothing ever happens in this town" he'd groaned and Stiles had just nodded in agreement ignoring the burning desire to tell his friend about just how much did happen as a result of the resident druids, werewolves, witches and those who hunted them. But Stiles had kept his mouth shut - his knowledge of that world was his secret and something he treasured dearly; he'd promised the one that had brought him into all this so many years ago that he wouldn't tell a soul and until he'd met Scott he'd never been tempted to tell anyone.

Stiles had tried to make a joke of it, telling Scott he'd contracted "lycanthropy" in the hope his friend would realise what he meant but even after Stiles had spelled it out to him, wolf howl imitation included, Scott had just laughed the suggestion off leaving Stiles racking his brains in order to think of another way to tell him. He knew he shouldn't blame Scott but he was surprised at his slowness - a bite he insisted was from a wolf and then the sudden enhancement of his sight, hearing and sense of smell not to mentioned his new super reflexes and Scott still hadn't considered he might be a werewolf? Where was his sense of imagination?!

Stiles sensed him before he even saw him and stopped in his tracks much to the confusion of his best friend who had been following close behind him. Stile whirled around and peered through the trees, his whole body tense as he waited - waited for the first glimpse of him.

The moment Stiles spotted Derek through the trees, walking with confidence and a familiar swagger Stile's heart leapt into his throat. A brief flicker of recognition crossed Derek's expression and even he, as practiced as he was at concealing his emotions, couldn't hide the faint smile ghosted his lips as his eyes locked onto Stile's.

Derek quickly neutralised his expression when he noticed Scott and his teeth gritted together.

Stiles glanced at Derek who glared at Scott, was he jealous? Stiles had always been able to read Derek despite the little signals the older one gave but he'd been out of practice for a long time and so he wasn't sure.

Derek's eyes returned to Stile's and just like before words were exchanged between them without so much of a world spoken between them. _"What are you doing here?"_ Stile's eyes asked. _"You're back - you said you were never coming back."_

_"I'm home. I'm not leaving again."_

_"You left me, I didn't hear from you. I thought you were dead."_

_" I'm not leaving you again."_

Stiles tore his eyes away from Derek and bowed his head a little as a million and one thoughts rushed through his mind and a feeling of relief mixed with conflicting hurt and anger overcame him. Stiles was relieved that Derek was alive, after not hearing from him for two long years he'd convinced himself that the werewolf must have met his end at the hands of a hunter. The relief however was tarnished by anger - why hadn't Derek contacted him? Not one phone call, not even a text in all that time. And what was he doing back here? He'd left to make a fresh start and had told Stiles he could never come back - not after the fire that had destroyed him home and killed his family.

"What are you doing here? Huh? This is private property." Derek barked, addressing Scott rather than Stiles.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Past ..._

_The first time Derek laid eyes on Genim "Stiles" Stilinski was when the four year old had managed to escape both his car seat and his father's police cruiser and had chosen to celebrate his freedom by running around the Hale yard with his coat over his head making aeroplane noises. Sheriff John Stilinski was at the Hale house taking a statement from Derek's elder brother, Lucas, who'd been accused of torching a car belonging to one of the Argent clan. Both Derek and his mother, Talia, knew Lucas was guilty but they covered for him - claiming he'd been at home all night with them the night the fire was started. _

_Prior to arriving at the Hale house the Sheriff had been called to pick his son up from nursery school early; Stiles had gotten into trouble for making a ruckus during nap time and had refused to stop singing Jingle Bells at the top of his lungs despite it being mid-July._

_Seven year old Derek stood on the porch beside his mother and watched Stiles tear around like a wild thing. "Doesn't he ever run out of energy?" Talia asked the Sheriff who was calling for Stiles (who wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention) at the same time as apologising to Talia for his behaviour._

_The Sheriff rubbed a hand over his tired face. "We haven't found the off button yet." he said with an exasperated sigh, but he looked over at his son and smiled with affection. _

_Talia invited the Sheriff inside to finish taking his statement and Derek was directed to keep Stiles occupied. "Aw mom can't Laura take care of him?" he whined, but the sharp look Talia gave him told him not to argue and embarrass her in front of the Sheriff._

_Derek rolled his eyes at his mother but didn't argue any further; he sloped off toward Stiles knowing his mother was trying to keep the Sheriff sweet as this wasn't the first time he'd been called to the house - Lucas was a bit of a troublemaker to say the least. "Genim." Derek shouted as he jumped off the porch. "What are you doing?" he asked heading over to him._

_Stiles glanced at Derek and pointed up into the tree he was standing at the foot of; for a moment he was still as he stared up into the canopy and it was the stillest Derek had ever seen him. "What is that?" Stiles asked glancing at Derek._

_Derek headed over and peered up into the tree. "It's an owl." he said looking down at Stiles. "Haven't you ever seen an owl before?"_

_Stiles shook his head. "I'm only four and a half." he said putting his hands on his hips and glaring at Derek. "I bet there are lots of things I haven't seen. I bet there are lots of things you haven't seen." he emphasised._

_Derek laughed. "I've seen everything." he declared proudly._

_"Everything in the whole world?" Stiles asked looking at Derek with big round eyes, full of awe and admiration._

_"Yep." Derek smiled down at him. "Shall I pick you up so you can have a closer look?" he offered to which Stiles nodded enthusiastically. Derek bent down, hoisted the little boy onto his back and then up onto his shoulders. The moment he was on his shoulders Stiles grabbed hold of a branch and swung himself up into the tree. "Hey! I didn't say climb the tree!" Derek shouted up at Stiles who was climbing the tree incredibly fast for such a little kid. "Be careful Genim!" Derek shouted._

_Stiles stopped and peered down at Derek. "No one calls me Genim." he told him. "Mommy calls me Stiles."_

_Derek sighed. "Well Stiles I think you should come down, if you fall you'll get hurt and your dad will probably lock me up."_

_Stiles giggled, but clearly he listened to Derek because he started to descend. "Owl has gone." he mumbled as he neared the lower branches. _

_"Well you were lucky to see it they are not usually out in the daytime." Derek told him, watching the boy carefully worried that the Sheriff would shoot him rather than arrest him if something happened to his son. "They're usually out hunting when you're tucked up in bed."_

_"Hunting?" Stiles asked taking a tentative step onto one of the smaller branches._

_"Yep." Derek nodded. "They hunt mice and other little creatures."_

_Stiles eyes widened. "I'm little." he said nervously._

_Derek chuckled but the sound quickly died when he saw Stile's stretch his foot toward a withered old branch. "Not that one!" he shouted but it was too late, Stiles had leapt onto the branch and it instantly snapped._

_Derek's heat race picked up out of fear and panic and the wolf senses he was still adjusting to kicked in; he watched Stiles fall through the braches in slow motion and quick as a flash he positioned himself under the tree and held out his arms; he heard a cry and then felt a heavy weight in his arms as Stiles fell into them. The little boy's eyes were clenched shut and he was shaking over. "It's okay I've got you." Derek said holding him tightly, he was too afraid to put him down because Stile's face was white as a sheet. "Stiles it's okay." he repeated calmly._

_Stiles opened his eyes and stared up at Derek, he looked stunned for a split second as he glanced at the tree he'd fallen from and then all of a sudden he burst into tears._

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Present ...

Stiles rubbed the back of his neck with his hand desperately trying to think of something he could he say in front of Scott and found himself mumbling something about not knowing they were on private property. Stiles glanced nervously at Derek as he and Scott exchanged words; he knew Derek instantly would have realised that Scott had received the bite and for a second or two an ugly thought crossed his mind - Derek suddenly back in Beacon Hills and Scott bitten? But no Derek wouldn't have done; he'd always told Stiles the bite was a gift, surely he wouldn't just randomly bite teenagers who'd got lost in the woods?

Stiles was a little shocked and upset when Derek simply tossed Scott his inhaler and turned and walked away without so much as a backward glance at him. So that was that, ten years of friendship, two long years of absence with no contact from him at all and he had nothing to say to him? Stile was outraged and wanted to shout after Derek, actually he wanted to chase after him but Scott telling him that he had to get to work brought him back to his senses - he'd have to find Derek later and get some answers.

As they trudged back toward his jeep Stiles couldn't concentrate on what Scott was telling him, all he kept thinking about was Derek - what was he doing back? Was he responsible for Scott's bite? Was he going to just disappear again?

Stiles dropped Scott off at the animal clinic and then headed straight back toward the woods; as he drove up the track toward the old Hale house he was reminded off all the times he'd walked the route, cycled it and even driven it with his father in the police cruiser. It had been years since he'd taken the route and when he pulled the jeep to a stop in front of the house he simply sat and stared up at it in disbelief. Stiles hadn't seen the house since before the fire, Derek hadn't let him near it since and he now knew why - the once impressive house was nothing more than a shell and his memories of all the times he'd spent there were tarnished just like Derek's must have been.

Stiles jumped when he spotted a figure lingering in front of the house but sighed with relief when he realised, even with his back turned, that it was Derek. Stiles quickly climbed out of the jeep and walked toward him swallowing nervously, unsure what to say now they were alone together and didn't have Scott as a reason to not talk to each other.

"Pretty bad huh?" Derek called to him, he didn't even have to turn around to know it was Stiles - Stiles always knew where to find him. "Now do you see why I never let you come up here after the fire?" he said turning to face him.

Stiles came to a halt and stared up at the house; he simply nodded at Derek's words and knew in that moment that he'd never be able to fully comprehend Derek's loss. All of his anger and hurt toward him drained away in that instant, he no longer cared about the lack of contact - he understood now that Derek had to severe all connections to Beacon Hills, to his home so that he could move on. So was that why he was back? Had he come to terms with it? Was he ready to start a new? Was he home for good?


	2. Chapter 2

"So go on, ask me what you're here to ask." Derek said fixing Stiles with a hard stare.

Stiles swallowed hard, noticing Derek's bitterness and scuffed his shoes into the dirt; deep down he knew the truth but he also wanted to hear it from Derek himself. "Did you bite Scott?" he asked still looking down at the ground.

Derek took a step toward him and Stiles swallowed once more. "Look at me and ask me that again." he said in a low voice.

Stiles pursed his lips before lifting his head. "Did you bite Scott?" he repeated.

"Do you think I did?" Derek asked moving closer still.

Stiles gritted his teeth together, Derek may be a werewolf but he didn't intimidate him and he was determined to show that."I'm asking you." he said keeping his eyes on Derek's whilst fighting the urge to take a step backward. "Did you bite him? Did you turn him into a werewolf? I'm right aren't I? He's one of you now?"

Derek nodded. "He's a werewolf, but I didn't bite him." he replied slinking back. "And before you ask I don't know who did."

Stile's eyes swept over Derek's, he'd hurt his feelings and that was why he'd turned defensive but instead of apologising Stiles just found himself watching Derek who had turned to look up at the moon. "Full moon tomorrow." Derek said with a weary sigh. "Your friend will be dangerous."

"No more than you." Stiles replied. "I've known you and your family my whole life and -"

"That's different." Derek interrupted. "My family and I were born werewolves, we -" he stopped and gazed at the house, reminding himself that his family were gone. "I have control when I shift, something taught to me by my parents and my brothers and sisters from birth." he said looking away from the ruins of his home to Stiles. "Scott has no idea what is about to hit him. He'll be wild, he'll be aggressive, possessive - he'll hurt people."

Stiles ran his fingers through his short dark hair. "So what do we do?" he asked worriedly. What if Scott lashed out? What if he shifted at home and attacked his mother? A cold shiver ran down Stile's spine when he remembered that Scott wouldn't actually be home. "He has a date tomorrow." he said pulling out his phone and double checking the text Scott had sent him. "There's this girl, Allison, and Scott is totally into her, I mean _totally_ into her and -"

"He'll have to cancel." Derek cut across him, really not interested in hearing about a teenage boys high school crush. "You'll have to bring him here, his first shift will be a difficult one but I can contain him."

Stiles shook his head. "You're asking me to convince Scott to come to a creepy burnt out building in the woods and let a stranger chain him up? Yeah, reality check dude that's never going to happen!"

Derek rolled his eyes. "Obviously you'll have told him what he is, if he really likes this girl he won't want to risk hurting her."

Stiles sighed with exasperation, did Derek really believe it was going to be that easy? But he also knew they had to do something, Scott wouldn't be alone with Allison as they were going to a house party with Lydia and Jackson, a house full of drunken teenagers and an out of control werewolf - not a good combination. "He doesn't believe me, I tried to tell him earlier but he just laughed it off." Stiles explained.

"Then convince him." Derek snapped clearly frustrated. "Find something to make him believe you."

Stiles chewed at his bottom lip as he thought for a few moments. "You could show him, you could shift in front of him - there is no way he could deny it after that."

Derek shook his head. "No." he said simply.

"No? What do you mean no? It's the only way we'll convince him!"

"It's not a party trick Stiles." Derek growled crossing his arms. "You'll have to find some other way of convincing him before tomorrow night."

Anger flooded Stiles's body. "Thanks a lot." he muttered fishing the Jeeps keys out of his pocket and heading over to it. "If I can't convince him, if he hurts anyone than it's your fault - your stupid pride." he snapped before wrenching open the Jeep doors and climbing in.

Derek realised Stiles was right - what if something happened and someone did get hurt? It would be all his fault. What if Scott lashed out at Stiles? Derek heart beat quickened at the thought. "Stiles." he said heading over to the Jeep.

Stiles started the engine. "Don't bother, I'll deal with this myself." he said spinning the Jeep around and barrelling off through the trees.

Stiles took a detour on his way home and stopped at the supermarket where he stocked up on caffeine drinks and the most sugar laden treats he could find because he knew that he'd need energy to get him through the night - he had a lot of research to do, he needed to find enough evidence to convince Scott of the truth.

Derek stood and watched as the Jeep hurtled out of sight; he should have just been honest with Stiles and told him the real reason he didn't want to shift in front of Scott was because he didn't want to shift in front of Stiles - he didn't want him to see that he was no longer able to shift fully.

As Derek drifted back into the ruins of the Hale house he remembered the first time Stiles had seen him in his full wolf form - the day the eleven year old had run away from the hospital after visiting his mother.

_Past ..._

_Derek hovered at the top of the stairs listening to his mother who had answered the front door to Sheriff Stilinksi, Derek knew it was the Sheriff before he saw him by the familiar sound of the police cruiser approaching the house a few moments before the three sharp knocks at the door - even on personal visits the Sheriff couldn't help but use his "official" knock._

_The first thought that went through Derek's head was "What has Lucas done now?" since most of the Sheriff's visits outside of picking up Stiles had something to do with his brother causing some sort of trouble. Derek glanced up the stairs through the rail at his brother who was hovering in the hallway after also hearing the police cruiser draw up. Derek rose his eyebrows at Lucas when he held his hands up and shook his head innocently - he'd seen him use that face before and wasn't fooled by it._

_"What's going on?" Laura asked appearing beside Lucas. "What did you do?" she said glaring at her brother. "I told you to steer clear of the Argents."_

_"I didn't do anything." Lucas hissed. "Not yet anyway."_

_"What's that supposed to mean?" Laura hissed._

_"They killed dad, we can't just standby and do nothing." Lucas growled. "Uncle Peter understands why can't you?"_

_Derek shushed them both angrily, their pointless arguing preventing him from hearing his mother and the Sheriff's conversation - all he heard were snatches of words. "Stiles" and "Missing" where the two that caught his attention._

_Derek hurried down the stairs. "Stiles is missing?" he asked, his heart beating harder and faster against his chest. All at once fear, anger and worry flooded his body and his hands started to shake - Derek glanced up at his mother and his eyes flashed bright yellow - what was happening to him? Talia placed her hand on Derek's shoulder and squeezed it tightly and instantly the sensations started to ease and he could breathe again._

_"He hasn't come here? You haven't seen him?" The Sheriff asked clearly very distressed._

_Derek shook his head, he understood why the Sheriff thought Stiles might come to their house as his mother had been looking after him for a couple of hours every evening after school for weeks now whilst the Sheriff worked late or visited his sick wife in hospital. The Hale house was practically a second home to Stiles. "I'll help you look - we all will won't we?" he said looking up at his brothers and sisters who had all gathered on the stairs - the three of them, Laura, Lucas, even Cora the youngest nodded in agreement._

_"Thank you." The Sheriff said gratefully. "I'd better check back at the hospital, make sure he hasn't wandered back there. Please call me if you find him." he called over his shoulder as he hurried back toward his car._

_"Of course we will, you'll find him John don't worry." Talia called back confidently. "We'll search the woods." she said closing the door and turning to her children who'd gathered at the foot of the stairs. "This is a good way for you to practice using your senses. You know when you shift your sight, hearing and sense of smell are heightened - take advantage of that. Cora, Derek, you two are staying here with me - there could be hunters out at this time of night." she said to her youngest children. "Laura call your uncles - get them to help." she told her eldest._

_"Mom I can't just stay here!" Derek cried. "I have to find Stiles."_

_"No." Talia snapped holding Derek firmly by the arm. "You're thirteen years old, still a child - you're still vulnerable and the hunters will take advantage of that."_

_"I am in control." Derek snapped his eyes flashing yellow despite his words. "And besides the hunters abide by the code, they won't touch me."_

_"Yeah well that same code didn't help dad did it?" Lucas muttered as he sloped out of the front door._

_Derek just glared after him before turning back to his mother. "Please mom."_

_"You're not in control of yourself yet it's too risky." Talia replied. "Trust me son."_

_"I am in control!" Derek shouted in frustration, his eyes flashing yellow despite his words._

_Talia put her hands on her hips. "So what was that back then? Huh? When the Sheriff said Stiles was missing what happened to you?"_

_Derek gritted his teeth together. "I don't know." he muttered._

_"I do." Talia replied. "And it makes you even more vulnerable so you're staying put." she said making it clear she wasn't taking no for an answer._

_Derek stormed upstairs to his room and slammed his door closed; he headed to the window and peered out watching as his sister, brother and two uncles who'd joined them shift before they slunk off into the woods. Derek sighed angrily - he just wanted to help what was so wrong with that? Why did his mother have to be so stubborn? He could handle the Argents and he could handle his wolf._

_Derek got up determined to convince his mother and headed downstairs, he made his way into the living room and stopped when he spotted Stile's red hoodie draped over the arm of the sofa - he must have left it when he was at the house earlier that afternoon. Derek picked it up and lifted it to his nose, he breathed in deeply and soaked in the boy's smell - Derek's eyes turned yellow and determination to find him filled him._

_"Derek."_

_Derek turned to see his mother standing over him - she suddenly seemed so tall - and when Derek look down he saw two black paws in front of him. He'd shifted and he hadn't even noticed._

_"Derek." Talia said gently as she bent down and picked up Stile's sweater. "You need to stay here." she said calmly._

_Derek was out of the house before she'd even straightened up._

Present ...

When Derek climbed through Stile's bedroom window he found him asleep at his desk clutching pieces of paper. Derek took the papers from his hand and unfolded them - he glanced briefly at the contents - werewolf sightings - werewolf mythology - and sighed as he set them down on the desk. Derek glanced at the empty drinks cans and sweet packets and then at Stiles and felt bad, if he'd have agreed to just shift in front of Scott then Stiles wouldn't have needed to do all this work. Derek shook Stiles by the shoulder. "Stiles." he hissed. "Wake up."

Stiles's head snapped up. "Derek?" he said with a frown. "What are you doing here? How did you ... oh ..." he said glancing at the open window. "Just like the old days eh?" he grinned.

Derek gave him a rare smile. "Some things shouldn't change." he replied. "I came to apologise." he told him. "I was letting my pride get in the way. I ..." he stopped and sighed not sure why he was so worried of Stiles finding out that he couldn't shift fully anymore. "If it's the best way to convince Scott then so be it."

Stiles smiled, grateful for the apology. "I understand." he said, he glanced at his notes and knew a compromise was the best way forward. "Let me try this way first." he said gesturing toward the papers. "If that doesn't work we'll have to try a different route."

Derek nodded. "OK." he said simply before heading over toward the window.

"You're not leaving are you?" Stiles asked getting up. "Stay, we haven't had a chance to catch up."

Derek hesitated briefly. "I can't, I want to but I can't - someone is out there attacking high school kids, I need to find out who and stop them."

A knot of anguish tightened in Stiles's stomach. "Be careful."

Derek grinned confidently. "I will." he nodded. "Let me know how it goes with Scott." he told him.

Stiles nodded and watched as Derek slipped out of the window and disappeared into the night; he sighed deeply as he got up to close the window - Derek was back in town, Derek was home and in that brief second where he'd climbed through his bedroom window Stiles felt as if he'd never been away.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: This chapter is all set in the past.

_With the scent from Stile's hoodie still fresh in his lungs Derek found tracking the boy much easier than he thought even with his limited experience. Instinct took over as he sped through the trees, he could hear his brothers and sisters in the woods him but did not let this distract him. Derek focused on finding Stiles and knew he was getting closer to him with every step he took._

_Soon Derek's ears were filled with the steady pulse of Stile's heartbeat which he used to locate him. Derek stopped when he finally found Stiles sitting at the base of a tree with his headphones jammed into his ears - the music was loud, and Derek was pretty sure he'd hear it even without his heightened senses. Derek took a tentative step toward him, forgetting for a moment he was still in his wolf form. Stiles had been crying, Derek could tell by the dried silvery trails down his face that shone in the moonlight. Derek, unable to help himself, whined, he didn't know what had happened but it was something bad, he could feel the pain radiating from Stiles._

_Knowing his brothers and sisters were still looking for Stiles and were in danger of crossing paths with a hunter Derek let out a howl, signalling to them that he'd found Stiles and for them to head back home where it was safe. _

_Stiles must have heard the howl despite his music as he scrambled up off the floor and spun around fearfully as he tried to work out which direction the sound had come from. Worried that he'd bolt Derek quickly shifted back into his human form and stepped out in front of him. "Stiles it's okay, it's just me." he said holding his hands up._

_Stiles eyes opened wide. "Derek?" he asked with a frown. "What are you doing out here ... and why are you naked?" he asked averting his eyes quickly._

_Derek had totally forgotten about clothing but luckily this being his family's land and training ground he knew of all the spots where they hid clothing for times like these. "Give me a second." he said dashing off to the nearest clothes stash. When he returned he was wearing a shirt and pair of trackies belonging to his brother, they were miles too big for him but at least he was decent. "Your dad is looking for you, he's worried." he said finding Stiles once more._

_Stiles hung his head. "I know, I shouldn't have taken off but I needed to get out of the hospital - it felt like I was being swallowed up." he said kicking at the leaves._

_Derek just nodded - he remembered that feeling overcoming him, the urge to flee, when his family had been gathered in the living room after just having buried his father. Talking soon led to arguing between his family members and Derek just couldn't take it anymore and just like Stiles he'd fled to the woods. "You could have come to ours." he told him. "You didn't have to be out here in the cold."_

_"I just wanted to be alone." Stiles mumbled._

_"Call your dad." Derek urged._

_Stiles nodded, knowing that his father didn't need the stress and the worry of him going missing on top of everything else he had to deal with. Stiles drew his mobile phone out of his pocket and sent his father a quick text - telling him he was safe and heading to the Hale house to spend the night there and that he was sorry and just didn't feel like talking right now._

_The reply from his father was an instant one and simply said "OK" Stiles smiled, he knew his father well and knew that a thousand words were said with that one message:_ I'm glad you're safe, it's okay that you left. I understand. I'm here when you are ready to talk.

_Stiles trailed after Derek winding his head phones carefully around his mp3 player as he did so; he didn't need to really look where he was going - he knew the trail that led to the Hale house so well now after years of playing out in the woods with Derek and Cora as they grew up together. "So ..." he said jogging to catch up with Derek. "When were you going to tell me you were a fricking werewolf?!" he cried as he nudged him with his elbow._

_Derek panicked, knowing that he had to cover this somehow but when he opened his mouth to reply Stiles cut across him. "Dude come on, there is no point in lying about it. I've been coming over to your house every day for like years did you really think I wouldn't notice things or over hear things? You're not the only ones with good hearing you know?" he said giving his friend another playful nudge. "You guys could do with being more subtle!" he laughed - he'd always been observant and his first instincts of the Hales even from a young age was that there was something different about them. He'd noticed right from the beginning that Derek and his family knew who was approaching the house before they'd even knock, how their eyes would flash yellow with anger or frustration and how they'd ease each other's pain by touch. Stiles had also heard snippets of whispered conversations he knew he shouldn't have - talk of shifts, of hunters, of keeping safe out in the woods. Talk of full moons, packs and jokes between siblings about tails and fur, teeth and claws. _

_Derek sighed heavily. "I knew you'd find out eventually." he sighed. "Mom always said it was risky you being over so often. We've hardly ever had anyone outside of the family over before, I guess we're not practiced at hiding it there where we feel comfortable."_

_Stiles grinned. "So I'm right, you are werewolves - all of you?"_

_"Do you even believe in them?" Derek said with a raised eyebrow._

_Stiles shrugged. "Guess I do now." he replied happily. "I mean I suspected and you showing up naked after I heard a wolf howl pretty much confirmed it." he laughed. _

_Derek coloured red and hung his head to hide it._

_"You don't have to be embarrassed." Stiles told him. "I think it's totally cool!"_

_"Cool?" Derek asked sceptically, ever since he was old enough to know what he was he'd been told by his parents that it was a gift, a secret, something dangerous that could get him or someone else killed if he wasn't careful. As he grew up he was taught how to hone his reflexes, how to use his sharpened senses and how to control the shift. He was taught about hunters, how to defend himself, how to avoid traps and how to track. His parents talked a lot of their friends and family who were like them, those that had died at the hands of hunters, those that had killed accidentally when out of control. It had all been very serious, even with his brothers and sisters who were encouraged to teach him just as much as his parents did. Derek had hidden all his life, never making any real friends out of fear of them finding out and rejecting him or of him hurting them. He kept his head down at school and didn't participate in any sports even though he desperately wanted to - his family deemed it too risky. _

_Stiles was his first and only friend and the only reason they'd become friends was because they'd been forced into spending so much time together. Although two years apart in age, and pretty much opposites in terms of personality since Derek was quiet and reserved whilst Stiles was ... well he was just Stiles ... a complete whirlwind or excitement and chatter they'd become firm friends - inseparable his mother would say. In the summer when it warm and light after school they played outdoors, playing catch and chase or just exploring the woods around the house, making camps and tree houses and boats to race down the river. When the nights turned cold and dark they entertained themselves in the house - sneaking into Lucas's room whilst he was out to listen to his tapes and read his comic books or into Laura's to watch her television. _

_Stiles was the only person Derek had ever wanted to tell his secret to, he was desperate to show him, to share it with him but knew his family would just freak out - a human, not to mention the Sheriff's son finding out about them? It would be a disaster!_

_Derek slowed to a halt and turned to face Stiles. "No one can know that you know." he said solemnly._

_Stiles just laughed. "Seriously?"_

_Derek nodded. "I wanted to tell you, I really did but my family forbade it. You can't let on Stiles, you mustn't tell anyone - promise me you won't?"_

_"Sure." Stiles nodded._

_"Stiles I'm serious." Derek hissed. "Knowing about this could get you killed - it could get both our families killed so please promise me."_

_Stiles realised just how serious Derek was. "Okay I promise." he said looking Derek in the eyes. "You can count on me." he said laying his hand over Derek's which was gripping his arm tightly. _

_Derek released his hand. "We should head back, it's getting dark." he said glancing up at the sky._

_"Aren't you going to show me?" Stiles asked jogging to catch up with Derek who had strode on ahead. _

_Derek glanced over his shoulder at Stiles with a raised eyebrow. "Now?" he asked._

_Stiles drew to a halt and crossed his arms. "You can't tell me something as cool as this and not show me!" he declared. "Show me or I'm not moving." he said with a pout._

_Derek rolled his eyes. "You're act like such a child." he muttered._

_Stiles smiled slightly. "Funny that since I'm only eleven an all." _

_Derek sighed. "Fine okay I'll show you, but then we have to go because my Mom is probably tearing her hair out right now wondering why we're not back."_

_"I promise we'll go straight back to yours, now please show me?" Stiles begged, hopping from foot to foot with excitement._

_Derek shifted, loving the expression on Stiles's face as he watched - one of sheer awe. Derek ran around him in circles causing Stiles to laugh; the boy stretched out his hand and petted Derek like a dog. "Your fur is soft." he smiled down at him as he dug his fingers into the wolf's black mane. "It's still you though, I can tell by your eyes." he said looking down at him. Derek slid around Stiles and nudged the back of his legs with his muzzle - urging him forward. "Alright alright! Hint taken!" Stiles chuckled as he set off toward the Hale house._

_Derek fell behind purposefully, he shifted back and quickly pulled on his clothes before he ran to catch up with Stiles. "Does it hurt?" Stiles asked when he'd rejoined him._

_Derek shook his head. "No." He glanced at Stiles and could see he was burning to ask more questions and laughed at his poor attempt to control himself. "Go on." he encouraged but he soon regretted this because Stiles reeled off a million and one questions all at once._

_Derek laughed again and was about to start answering when he heard something causing to halt in his tracks._

_"What is it?" Stiles asked._

_Derek shushed him and listened carefully - he could tell by the sound that it was slow and cautious footsteps of a human - scratch that humans - there were three of them all moving slowly like they were tracking something. Derek sniffed the air and could tell by the smell that it was not one of his siblings or other family members. In fact Derek slowly realised that he knew that smell, it was the bitter aftershave worn by Gerard Argent mixed with adrenaline and anticipations. "Hunters." Derek whispered to Stiles. "We have to get back to the house now - run!" he cried grabbing Stiles by the hand, running as fast as he could, pulling Stiles along with him. _

_The moment they moved there was gun fire and Stiles cried out in fear. Derek did not let go of his hands as he pulled Stiles left and right dodging the bullets and arrows as he frantically made his way toward the house which had just come into view. _

_Derek heard a roar and two black flashes sped appeared from the porch and sped past him - Derek knew at once that it was his uncle Peter and his brother Lucas and that they had gone after the Argents._

_Derek ran straight into his mother's arms when she pulled the front door open and she quickly steered them into the house, closing the front door firmly behind them. "Are you okay?" she said sitting Derek and Stiles down at the kitchen counter and checking them over for injuries despite Derek's protests that they were fine._

_Laura came bursting into the kitchen. "What are they doing? Why would they shoot at Derek and Stiles, they're just kids! It's against the code." she cried._

_Stiles spotted the warning look Talia Hale sent her daughter. "They were probably just shooting dear, they weren't expecting children to be out this late." she said ushering Laura out of the room._

_"Lucas has gone out with Uncle Peter." Stiles and Derek heard Laura whisper to her mother. "What if they get hurt? I should go and -"_

_"No stay right here and look after the children." Talia replied. "I'll go."_

_"No Mom you can't!" Laura cried, both Derek and Stiles knew she feared losing her just like her father._

_"Trust me sweetheart, I can handle the argents." Talia told her._

_Stiles, trembling all over, glanced at Derek. "You really meant what you said didn't you? About people getting killed?" he asked._

_Derek nodded. "They killed my dad." he muttered._

_Stiles gripped Derek's hand tightly, noticing that he hadn't let go even after arriving safely at the house. "I'm sorry." he whispered. Of course he knew about the death of Derek's father, he'd even attended the funeral with his father but they had been told it was a hunting accident._

_Derek got up, swallowing back his tears. "Call your dad, get him to pick you up - it's not safe here." he said before heading out of the kitchen._

_Stiles wanted to follow to ask what Derek's sister had meant by "the code" but he knew now wasn't the time and so did as he was told and called his father. _

_The police cruiser arrived at the house a few moments later and the Sheriff cuddled his son close and pressed kisses to his hairline; he didn't mention a word of Stile's disappearance - simply telling him that he had curly fries and hamburgers waiting at home for him. As Stiles climbed into the back of the car he noticed Peter, Talia and Lucas heading out of the woods and back toward the Hale house - thankfully none of them were harmed. Stiles wondered what Talia had done to calm the situation down and how badly things could have got out of hand if Lucas and Peter had their way and had taken revenge on the Argents - he could tell by the gritted look on the two men's faces as they passed the police cruiser that they weren't prepared to give up yet._

_It looked like a full scale war between werewolves and hunters was coming to Beacon Hills._

_TBC_


	4. Chapter 4

_Past ..._

_Stiles's got the fright of his life when rolled over in bed and spotted Derek at his bedroom window; he quickly climbed out of bed and closed his bedroom door before he headed over to the window and opened it. "Derek what are you doing here?" he whispered, scared his father would hear and come rushing in thinking there was an intruder._

_Derek climbed somewhat ungracefully into the house, getting his foot caught on the window sill causing him to crash to the floor._

_"Sshh!" Stiles urged at the same time trying not to laugh. "Do you want my dad to come in with his shotgun?" he asked, not doubting for a second his father would actually do that._

_Derek straightened up and dusted himself down. "No thanks, I've been shot at enough today already." he muttered._

_Stiles closed the window and then turned to Derek. "What are you doing here?" he asked again._

_Derek sat down on Stiles's bed and stared up at him. "Couldn't sleep." he replied with a shrug. "I wanted to make sure you were okay." he added slightly embarrassed at confessing this._

_Stiles sat down beside him and sighed wearily. "Well it's been a strange day that's for sure." he said trying to chuckle but he just couldn't. "But I'm okay."_

_Derek laid back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling with was covered in glow in the dark stars. "The hunters aren't supposed to come near us kids." he told Stiles._

_Stiles glanced over at him. "Your sister mentioned some sort of code?"_

_Derek nodded. "The hunters have rules they're supposed to abide by, they don't hurt kids and they aren't supposed to hunt werewolves which aren't dangerous - ones like my family who are in control of themselves."_

_Stiles chewed at his bottom lip. "So what happened to your dad?" he asked gently._

_Derek let out a deep sigh. "They broke the code." he muttered. "My dad was no threat to them but they killed him anyway. Uncle Peter said it was to remind us that they have the power - to remind us that they chose to let us live and if they wanted to they could kill us all."_

_"Do you believe that?" Stiles asked._

_Derek shrugged. "I dunno, no one asks me I'm just a kid." _

_"I'm asking you." Stiles replied._

_Derek's eyes swept over his and he smiled slightly - he loved that Stiles was interested in his opinion and thought it worthwhile, none of family ever listened to him. "I guess I understand what he means but I don't think that's what happened with dad. Not all the Argents believe in this code so rigidly as others ... Gerard ... if it were up to him I think he'd rid this town of all werewolves. He killed my dad and he did it because he was a werewolf pure and simple."_

_Stiles just nodded; he knew Gerard Argent, he had been a family friend for as long as he could remember. He would often call by their house when his grandfather was living with them before he died and he'd always bring sweets with him for Stiles. Gerard even taught Stiles how to play chess. "Do you think he recognised me in the woods?" he asked Derek. _

_Derek shook his head. _

_"So what happened after I left?" Stiles asked._

_"Mom went out and confronted him, Gerard told her that he didn't know we were children and that it was her fault for not keeping us under control. I don't believe that for a second, they knew we were kids." Derek grumbled._

_"Your Mom was brave to confront them."_

_Derek smiled broadly. "She always has been." he said proudly. "Mom's family were all wolves so she's had to deal with hunters all he life; she offered dad the bite after they got married." he explained. "Mom knows how to handle the Argents, she made peace with them when we first moved here ... well as much peace as you can make with werewolf hunters."_

_Stiles sank back against the bed. "It's scary ... your world ..."_

_Derek turned his head to look at him. "Not so cool now?" he asked._

_Stiles grinned. "Nah it's still pretty cool!" he chuckled._

_Derek yawned loudly and Stiles reached over to cover his mouth with his hand. "Sshh you'll wake my dad." he said unable to contain his giggles._

_"Sorry." Derek smiled. "M'tired."_

_Stiles's eyebrows rose. "Thought you said you couldn't sleep?" he asked._

_"Well now I know you're okay I can." Derek replied. "Can I stay here? I don't want to go out in the cold." _

_"Won't your Mom be worried?" Stiles asked._

_Derek shrugged. "I'll be home before she's wakes." he told him. Stiles thought about it for a moments and decided after the fright he'd had in the woods he could do with the company and so threw Derek a pillow and a blanket from his bed. "Thanks." Derek smiled making himself a make-shift bed on the floor and curling up. It was cold out but that wasn't the real reason he wanted to stay - tonight he just needed to be close to Stiles because he knew that what happened earlier must have scared him. "You didn't tell your dad what happened then?" he said to Stiles after a few moments of quiet between them._

_Stiles rolled over and looked down at Derek. "No." he replied. "I would have had to tell him the truth about you and your family and I promised you I wouldn't."_

_Derek just nodded and when Stiles rolled back over he couldn't help but smile - Stiles was loyal and he appreciated that; he'd been worried after telling Stiles the truth but now he knew he could trust him. "We haven't talked about why you ran away today." he said gently._

_Stiles sucked in a deep breath. "Tomorrow, I can't - not tonight."_

_"OK." Derek replied simply._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Present ...

Stiles couldn't believe how Scott had reacted when he'd tried again to tell him that he'd become a werewolf; this time he was armed with his research but Scott didn't even look at it - as far as he was concerned Stiles was just wasting his time. Stiles had become desperate, knowing he had to make sure Scott kept away from Allison since tonight was the full moon and so he'd had snatched up Scott's phone from his bag and told Scott he was going to cancel his date with Allison. That's when things spiralled out of control, Scott suddenly became very aggressive, wrestled the phone from Stiles and pinned him against the wall. Scott was close to punching him and Stiles didn't doubt that he would but luckily Scott saw sense and venting his frustration on Stile's desk chair rather than him personally before walking out - still determined to go on his date with Allison.

Seconds after Scott had left Derek climbed into Stile's room through the window wild eyed and ready for a fight, he'd heard Stile's heart beat pick up two blocks away and drove as fast as he could with the sound racing in his ears. "What's going on?" he asked looking at Stiles who was still pinned to the wall of his bedroom and breathing heavily. Stiles pointed to his desk chair, still unable to speak from the shock of his confrontation with Scott. Derek pulled the chair up onto his feet and span it around to see the claw marks; he swallowed hard before sighing heavily. "I told you he'd be aggressive." he said glancing at Stiles.

Stiles glared back at him, his eyes full of tears. "That's all you've got to say?" he snapped. "I told you so?! Well if you had just done what I asked you to do and shift in front of Scott then this wouldn't have happened." he raged.

Derek glanced at Stiles and could see how shaken he was. "I'm sorry." he said knowing Stiles was right. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" he asked; he couldn't smell blood which was a good sign.

"No I'm not okay!" Stiles shouted. "My best friend was inches from ... from ..." he stopped and ran his hands over his head. "Forget it, you were right he's out of control - we can't let him go out with Alison."

Derek nodded. "I'll go. I'll stop him - where is this party?"

"Lydia's house, I'll drive." Stiles said snatching up the keys to his Jeep from his desk.

Derek shot out and arm causing Stiles to flinch. "Stiles, I just wanted your keys." he said surprised by his reaction. "You're still shaken, I'll drive." he said taking the keys out of Stiles's hand and laying them on the table. "Come on we'll take my car." he said pushing gently on Stile's shoulder to get him to move.

"Sorry." Stiles said flushing red. "Maybe you're right." he said glancing down at his shaking hands. "It's just Scott's like my best friend, seeing like that was pretty scary." he mumbled.

Derek followed Stiles down the stairs and watched whilst he pulled on his trainers and jacket. "You know I wouldn't hurt you right?" he asked still worried by Stile's reaction. "Scott and I are different."

"I know." Stiles smiled positively. "Come on we'd better go." he said heading out of the house.

When he reached the bottom of the garden path Stiles spotted the Derek's car parked hastily at the side of street with the engine still running. "You left it like this?" he said noticing the door was ajar.

Derek just told Stiles to get in - truth was he wasn't so sure what had happened; the instinct to protect Stiles had just overcome him and nothing else mattered that getting to him before he was hurt.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Past ..._

_"You're not worried?" Laura asked; she'd woken her after hearing Derek not so subtly sneak out of the house and had alerted her mother._

_Talia shook her head. "I know where he's gone and he'll be safe there, hunters aren't stupid enough to make trouble at the Sheriff's house."_

_"He's gone to Stiles's?" Laura asked surprised by this. "In the middle of the night?"_

_Talia sighed wearily. "You might as well go back to bed sweetheart." _

_"But what about Derek?!" Laura cried. "This isn't fair, if I sneaked out the house I'd be grounded for ever but you let him get away with it." she grumbled._

_"With Derek it's complicated." Talia replied. "I wasn't sure at first but after today I don't doubt it, Derek's not even aware of it himself yet but ..." she sighed again and pinched the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes. "Stile's is human, he's young ... he doesn't know anything about werewolves so I don't know how this is going to work."_

_"Mom what are you talking about?" Laura asked. _

_"You remember you and I had that talk when you had your first crush on that boy?" Talia asked. "Do you remember that I explained to you, that we werewolves are different that we don't fall in love as easily as humans and when we do that it's a life time deal?" _

_"Yeah?" Laura said slowly. "Wait are you saying - Derek and Stiles? That's just stupid he's just a kid still and Stiles is ... well Stiles." she said shaking her head. "Nah mom you've got it wrong, Derek puts up with Stiles for sure but he seems pretty narked by him most of the time, they're too different. You've definitely got it wrong." Laura laughed._

_Talia shook her head. "I wish I had." she sighed. "He doesn't know it yet, but the wolf does and there is nothing we can do to change it. When he realises and finds out Stiles isn't interested Derek is going to get his heart broken and there is nothing I can do ..." she sighed._

_Laura laid her hand on her mother's shoulder. "You're serious aren't you?" she asked, to which her mother simply nodded. "Well you never know Stiles might like Derek back and everything will be great, no broken hearts." she said positively._

_Talia glanced over her shoulder at Laura with raised eyebrows. "For that he'll have to accept Derek as a werewolf and all the problems that come with it, I don't see much chance of that."_

_"It worked for you and dad." Laura smiled. "There is always a chance."_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Present ...

"When Scott lashed out he started to shift but it wasn't like any werewolf I've seen before." Stiles said as they made their way through the house which was full of drunk teenagers dancing, playing games and some sneaking off the bedrooms up stairs. "I saw it on the lacrosse pitch too, he was still human but he had claws and teeth and his eyes were yellow. Why isn't he like you?" he asked.

Derek who was right behind Stiles as they scoped the house for Scott muttered. "He's exactly like me."

"What do you mean?" Stiles asked glancing over his shoulder at Derek. "When Scott shifts he doesn't turn into a full wolf and -"

Derek sighed heavily. "And neither do I." he cut across Stiles. "Not anymore. Not since ... not since the fire. I guess it's because I've lost my pack. Omega's aren't able to shift either."

Stiles stopped and turned to Derek. "I'm sorry." he said knowing it was difficult for Derek to talk about the fire. "So Scott can't either because he's an Omega?" he asked.

"No Scott's a Beta but he can't shift fully because he doesn't have that level of control yet - he's still young and wild." Derek replied glad the music was loud enough to drown out their conversation. "He will be able to eventually though because his Alpha is still alive and while he is Scott is part of his pack. I was born a werewolf but my mother, my Alpha, is dead. My pack is dead."

Stiles wrapped his arms around Derek's neck and hugged him tightly, not caring that most of the teenagers, including many he knew from school, were now gawping at him. Derek slipped his arms around Stile's slim waist and hugged him back tightly before letting go. "Let's find Scott, we can do this later."

"Promises promises." Stiles teased.

Derek just rolled his eyes at Stiles. "I'll check out back, you try upstairs." he directed.

"Upstairs? Why upst-ew gross I don't want to walk in on that!" Stiles exclaimed.

"Would you rather walk in on Allison's mauled corpse? GO!" Derek said shoving Stiles toward the stairs.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Past ..._

_Stiles woke with the rush of cold air that filled his bedroom as the window opened; he rolled over just in time to see Derek disappear through it. Stiles glanced at the clock - just after 5am - and hoped Derek would be home before his mother found out he'd snuck out during the night, he didn't want his friend to get in trouble because of him. Clearly Stiles's father hadn't come in to check on him during the night - he'd have known about that for sure! The Sheriff certainly wouldn't have been happy about unexpected house guests and would have woken them and confronted them over it without a doubt. _

_Stiles glanced down at the makeshift bed on the floor, he was glad Derek stayed because he wasn't sure he'd be able to sleep if he was on his own - too many thoughts had been rushing around his head but as soon as Derek had arrived he felt calm. With Derek there he could just forget about everything and not just being chased by hunters. He could forget about his mother lying in hospital, slowly getting worse not better. Stiles had fled the hospital in anger the previous day; he was angry that the doctors weren't doing their job, his mother should be getting better, she should be home with him and his father not lying in bed getting frailer every day he visited her and he was angry that everyone kept putting on brave faces in front of him - yes he was only eleven years old but he knew what was happening - his mother was dying and no amount of sympathetic smiles from the doctors and nurses would fix that._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Present ...

Stiles trudged down stairs after searching the upper floor of the house and was about to go and find Derek when he spotted Scott pushing through the crowd he was as white as a sheet, looked in pain and was bolting for the front door. Stiles knew what was happening and new more than ever he and Derek had to get him somewhere safe. Stiles rushed outside and found Derek, grabbing him by the arm he pulled him out of the back gate and around to the front of the house. "Scott." he said pointing to the car that sped away. "What do we do?" he asked.

"Go after him, he'll have gone somewhere he feels safe to shift - home." Derek told him. "Try and keep him there until I've lured him to the woods."

"How are you going to do that?" Stiles asked. "You said he's out of control, he won't be lured."

"He will if he thinks he'll find Allison." Derek replied. "Go. Call me if he leaves the house."

Stiles nodded and ran off, he knew Derek wasn't stupid enough to take Allison into the woods so knew he was planning on using her scent to draw Scott out. But this wasn't how it was meant to go, Scott should have been chained up at the old Hale house by now he thought as he peered up at the moon out in all its glory. Stiles ran as fast as he could to Scott's house thinking all the while how in control Derek was of himself - even when they were kids he wasn't completely himself on full moon nights but now it seemed he'd mastered his self control. Stiles buzzed at the thought because ever since Derek had arrived home he'd been a little wary of him - now he knew he could trust him completely.

When Stiles reached Scott's house he could tell the shift was progressing fast and that he had to get him out of his house and somewhere secure as soon as possible. Stiles tried to get in Scott's room, hoping he could convince him to let him take him to the Hale house but Scott was having none of it - he claimed Derek was the one that bit him and that he had killed the girl in the woods. Stiles closed his eyes and sighed - the whole reason they were in this mess was because they'd been looking for the other half of the girl's body the night Scott was bitten, so it was his fault - if he hadn't have listened in on his father's calls, if he hasn't gone over to Scott's to entice him out into the woods, if he hadn't been so desperate to seek his father's approval none of this would have happened. Stiles knew he had to tell Scott that Derek hadn't killed the girl, that he knew he was a werewolf but he wasn't a murderer and he wasn't the one to bite him - Derek considered the bite a gift just like the rest of his family had done and took the giving of it very seriously. However, Stiles didn't get a chance to tell Scott this - he'd started off trying to explain that Derek was the one that had driven Allison home from the party, and that he was the one trying to stop Scott from hurting her but he didn't get that far - upon hearing the word Derek connected with Allison, Scott saw red and bolted clearly seeing Derek as a threat to Allison.

"Derek we've got a problem, Scott's gone - he thinks you're the one that bit him I think he's coming after you." Stiles told him as he sped out of Scott's house and down the street toward his own home.

"It's okay, let him - I've got Allison's jacket, he won't be able to resist tracking her scent once he reaches the woods." Derek told him.

"I'm on my way." Stiles replied grabbing his keys from his desk and running back down the stairs and out of the house to his Jeep.

"No stay away from the woods tonight, who knows how many other kids the Alpha has bitten - there could be a lot of out of control wolves out tonight."

"But Derek -" Stiles protested diving into his Jeep and starting it up.

"No Stiles!" Derek interrupted when he heard the sound of the engine. "I'll handle Scott I'll make sure he's safe and doesn't hurt anyone but I can't do that if I'm worrying about you. Look if you want to help then check on Allison, make sure she's home and isn't going to contact Scott tonight because that could blow everything." he told him. "Then go home, get some sleep." he added more gently.

Stiles sighed, not happy but knowing Derek was right, that with him out of the picture he could concentrate on keeping Scott safe - or everyone else safe from Scott. "Okay but call me tomorrow when it's over."

"Promise." Derek said before cutting the call.


	5. Chapter 5

Present ...

Stiles's dived out of the Jeep not even bothering to cut the engine or close the door behind him; he sped up the steps of the old Hale house and hammered on the battered door. "Derek?!" he shouted. "Derek are you in there?!" he shouted again when he didn't hear a reply. Stiles span around when he heard the sound of the engine and saw the Camaro pull up beside the Jeep; he held his breath as the car door opened and only let it out when Derek climbed out and he saw that he was okay.

"Hey Stiles, what'cha doing up here?" Derek asked as he went around to the boot of the car and took out some shopping bags. "Well it's good timing, I've got your favourites." he said shaking the bag and giving him a rare smile. "I thought we could have that catch up you were talking about the other night?"

Stiles jumped off the porch and raced over, throwing his arms around Derek and hugging him tightly. The bags Derek had in his hands crashed to the floor and he hugged Stiles back, sensing his panic. "What's happened?" he asked drawing back. "Is it Scott?" he asked. "Did he hurt someone?"

Stiles flushed red, backed away a little embarrassed and stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets. "No it's not that, he told me about the Hunters last night and I was worried - he said you fought them off. I just wanted to make sure you weren't hurt."

"I heal remember." Derek said picking up the bags and heading up the steps to the house.

Stiles headed over to the Jeep, took the keys from the ignition and slammed the door closed. "Yeah I know but doesn't stop me worrying." he said running to catch up with Derek. "Hunters are trained to kill werewolves."

"Don't I know it." Derek sighed as he pushed open the door and entered the house.

Stiles winced slightly, how stupid of him to say such a thing - of course Derek knew what Hunters were capable off, the evidence was all around him as he stepped into the burnt out ruins of Hale house. "Sorry I didn't mean it like that, I just meant that they know you can heal - they take it into account." he explained. Derek just shook his head, he knew what Stiles had meant and wasn't offended. "So you mentioned food?" Stiles asked realising how hungry he was and eyeing up the carrier bags eagerly; the moment school had finished, he sped out and headed for the Hale house as quick as he could. Scott had reluctantly told him what had happened the night before after a lot of coaxing from Stiles who had to tease it out of him because Scott kept insisting he just wanted to forget about it. Stiles's ended up wishing he hadn't have asked because the frightening knowledge that Derek had fought with four werewolf hunters, Argents none the less, had stuck with him all day and there was nothing he could do to shake it.

Derek chuckled and threw Stiles a bag of Cheetos. "I'm assuming you still like these?" he asked. "I swear you used to eat about a hundred bags a week when we were kids." he laughed.

Stiles was already a quarter of the way through the packet before he'd even answered. "Yeah of course I still like them, I love them, how could you not?" he asked watching as Derek bit into an apple. "What's the occasion?" he asked between mouthfuls.

Derek circled what used to be the rather grand entrance hall of the Hale house, but the once elegant white staircase was now black with soot and rotten from damp. "I felt bad, we haven't had the chance to talk since I got back but it's been difficult with the Alpha out there and Scott first full moon."

"I know." Stiles nodded. "So have you found any clues yet?" he asked following Derek as he headed up the stairs and to the west side of the house; this was the part that had survived the worst of the fire and the part Derek seemed to be living in.

Derek headed over to the window and peered out. "Not yet but he's out there for sure." he mumbled.

Stiles looked around the room. "Come and stay at my house, you can't stay here Derek." he said looking at the little camp bed and the boxes and bags containing Derek's possessions.

Derek looked over at Stiles. "This is home, this is where I should be." he replied simply before turning to look out of the window again. "I feel safe here. The Hunters don't come up here, why would they bother? No other werewolves come near here, they wouldn't dare - they know what happened here."

"But it's just full of bad memories." Stiles protested, he glanced around the room - this one used to be Cora's bedroom and he could still make out a little of the bright pink beneath the grey and black that covered the walls.

"No." Derek said shaking his head. "It's full of good memories, that's why I like it here."

"But you don't have to sleep here, do you even have running water or power?" Stiles asked.

Derek shook his head. "I use my car to charge my phone, I have cold food or get hot takeout and the river is nearby." he replied with a shrug, like everything in life was the easy.

Stiles laughed. "Some poor so and so is going to get a shock when they stumble across you stripping off by the river."

Derek just rolled his eyes. "Eat your Cheetos Stiles." he replied, crossing his arms. "And stop worrying about me."

"Only when you stop worrying about me." Stiles replied knowing this was never going to happen. "But seriously dude you need to sort something out." he said before delving back into his crisp packet.

"I'll focus on finding somewhere to live when I've got time." Derek replied moodily.

Stiles sighed. "But until then stay at mine? Or at least a hotel, it's not safe here." he said glancing up at the roof which creaked just as much as the floor did, sooner or later one of them was going to cave in.

Derek chewed his bottom lip and had to admit his current situation wasn't exactly practical. "Fine if it will shut you up then so be it."

"My house then?" Stiles asked with a bright smile.

"Won't your dad mind?"

"Of course not, after all you and your family did for me I think we owe you." Stiles said shaking his head. "He'll probably like having someone to watch sports with, I really don't get his enthusiasm, and I know you're into all that even if you didn't get to play at school."

Derek just nodded; he was generally good at sports and a keen basketball player but his parents deemed it too risky for him to join any teams at school despite Derek insisting that he was in control of his wolf.

Stiles helped Derek gather up his things and then they carried it all down to the cars; Derek's few possessions would have easily fitted in the Camaro but Stiles insisted on putting some in the back of the Jeep anyway, that way Derek couldn't change his mind. "I'll see you back at mine then?" he said before climbing into the driving seat of the Jeep.

Derek just nodded.

Stiles glanced in his rear-view mirror as he set off through the woods and was relieved to see that Derek was following him.

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_Past ..._

_"Thanks for the ride." Stiles said grabbing his backpack from the back seat of the police cruiser; he'd overslept but luckily his father had still been home, so he should just about make it in time to school for his first class if he hurried._

_"Wait just a second." The Sheriff said as his son was about to open the car door._

_Stiles turned to look his father and sighed wearily. "Look I'm sorry about taking off yesterday." he said; the car journey had been worryingly quiet, his dad hadn't even turned the radio on and Stiles sensed he had something to say to him but was struggling to find the words. "I'll say sorry to mom tonight." he added._

_The Sheriff swallowed at the mention of his wife. "She understands son." he said laying his hand on Stiles's shoulder. "Actually that's not what I wanted to talk to you about, look I know you had a hard time yesterday but I'd still appreciate it if you cleared it with me before you had friends over to stay the night, okay buddy?"_

_Stiles's eyes widened. "Oh ... okay ..." he mumbled, he hadn't realised that he'd known about Derek staying the night. _

_"It's okay." The Sheriff smiled. "I get it, but just let me know in the future 'kay?"_

_Stiles nodded and climbed out of the car; his father leant across and called out of the window to him. "I'll pick you from the Hale's when I've finished tonight, we'll go and see your mom if you're up to it?" he asked._

_Stiles nodded quickly before speeding off into school just as the bell rang._

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_"You okay?" Derek asked appearing besides Stiles's who was hastily digging books out of his locker. "Your heart is beating a mile a minute."_

_Stiles glanced at Derek curiously and not because of the comment about his heartbeat because he'd suspected that Derek had super hearing just like the rest of his family; Stiles was just surprised that Derek was talking to him at school. Despite them being friends, at school aside from the odd nod of acknowledgement if they passed each other in the corridor they didn't really speak much. Derek was two years older so they didn't share any classes and Stiles spent his lunch break in the library and he was pretty sure Derek didn't even know where that was!_

_"I'm fine, I was just rushing because I was late." Stiles replied gathering up his books. Derek just nodded his head slightly, and Stiles could have sworn he'd seen a flicker of relief cross his face before it returned to neutral. "My dad knows you stayed over last night by the way." Stiles told him._

_Derek just grimaced a little. "Did I get you into trouble?" he asked._

_Stiles shook his head. "Nah, it's good - he understands, well he thinks he does. He thinks it's because I ran away from the hospital yesterday not because of the Hunters."_

_Derek just nodded; part of the reasons he had stayed over at Stiles's was because he was worried about him after what had happened with the Argents, but it was also because he wanted to be there, to comfort him, he needed it in regards to his mother - Derek had felt all of Stiles's emotions when he'd found him by the tree - how scared he was, how angry, worried, upset and an overwhelming sense of loneliness. Derek didn't want Stiles's to feel like that ever again._

_" See you after school." Stiles said slamming his locker shut and walking away._

_Derek nodded and watched as Stiles headed down the corridor toward the science labs before he turned away and headed in the opposite direction._

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Present ...

"So what will Scott make of me moving in then?" Derek asked as he dumped his stuff down in the spare bedroom. They'd arrived back at Stiles's house, his father had been home and welcomed Derek in with open arms, claiming how good it had been to see him and how happy he was that he had come home to Beacon Hills. Derek had been given the spare bedroom at the very back of the house, opposite from Stiles, it was small containing nothing but a single bed and a battered old wardrobe but it was a hell of a lot nicer than where Derek had been sleeping. "He doesn't he know we're friends does he?" Dered asked Scott.

Stiles ran his fingers over his short hair. "No ... he doesn't." he confessed. Derek looked at his questionable. "I don't know why." Stiles sighed sitting down on the edge of the bed. "It's just it will open up whole can of worms - he'll want to know everything and I don't really want to delve into the past." he said with a shrug.

"He'll find out eventually." Derek replied. "And don't you think he'd going to wonder why you never said anything?"

Stiles shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I'll deal with that when I have to."

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Present ...

Stiles wandered downstairs the next morning yawning loudly as he padded into the kitchen; Derek and his father were already up and dressed and chatting, surprisingly easy since Derek wasn't usually one for small talk. Derek had just returned from his usual morning jog and the Sheriff was asking him how he managed to force himself out of bed so early, especially when it was cold and raining outside.

Stiles smiled to himself as he pulled open the fridge door and wondered what his father would say if Derek told him just how many miles he covered when he went out for a run - must be something to do with being born a werewolf because he was pretty sure Scott wasn't about to start running multiple marathons anytime soon. Stiles grabbed a carton of orange juice and just as he was about to swig from it the carton was swiftly snatched away from him. "Use a glass, and not just because of our guest." his father told him.

"Yes okay." Stiles muttered with a roll of his eyes; he grabbed a glass from the cupboard and poured himself a generous amount of juice and then sat down at the counter next to Derek and yawned again.

"Stiles isn't a morning person." The Sheriff told Derek who just smiled in response. "You should take a leaf out of Derek's book." he said to his son. Derek just turned his to the newspaper in front of him but he could picture Stiles's scowl perfectly. "See you tonight." he said draining his mug of coffee. "And don't be late for school Stiles." he said before grabbing his keys and heading out of the house.

Stiles prodded Derek with his elbow. "Already my dad's best friend I see."

Derek just shrugged his shoulders. "He thinks I could be a good influence on you." he replied. "He said you could do with an older brother."

Stiles just laughed. "You're the one that gets me into trouble." he said grabbing the cereal box and eating straight from the packet. "He would totally freak out if knew the sort of things we got up to as kids." he said able to laugh at it now but back then life had been truly terrifying at times.

Derek slid off the stool and pulled on his leather jacket. "Don't be late for school." he said before swiftly leaving the kitchen.

Stiles sighed mentally cursing himself for bringing up the past; Derek wasn't able to look back at it as fondly as he could and for good reason too. Stiles didn't call after him, knowing that Derek liked to be left alone with his thoughts and when he heard the front door slam he knew exactly where Derek was headed - the old Hale house.

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_Past ..._

_"So you're going to the hospital tonight?" Derek asked as they kicked through the leaves as they made their way home after school. Cora was with them, dragging behind and Derek had to keep calling for her to keep off. _

_Stiles nodded. "Yeah, I need to apologise to mom for running out yesterday." he explained. "It just all got a bit too much, I shouldn't have run off though ..." he sighed. "They have enough to worry about."_

_"They understand Stiles and your mom will get through this, she'll be home before you know it." Derek said squeezing his shoulder reassuringly._

_Stiles sighed deeply and kept his eyes on the leaves his was kicking through. "When your dad died -" he started to ask._

_"Your mom is not going to die." Derek insisted._

_Stiles glanced up at him hopefully. "Promise?" he asked._

_Derek swallowed hard. "Promise." he nodded._

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Present ...

Stiles had never had much luck hiding his feelings from Derek and now that he was living in his house he had no chance at all. Derek knew exactly what was going on in his head without Stiles having to say a word and sometimes it felt like he knew him better than he knew himself.

It was a little difficult for him at first because he was used to spending a lot of time at home alone since his father worked long hours; when he did return home he'd politely ask Stiles how his day had been and Stiles always replied that it had been good - he didn't want to burden his father with his troubles when he had the whole the town's to deal with. And it wasn't like he could tell his father the truth about his two best friends being werewolves especially when one was living with them.

Derek, on the other hand, seemed to know when Stiles had a bad day and a response of "good" or "fine" just didn't cut it with him. And so when Stiles returned home after a particularly bad day which culminated in him having to use a fire extinguisher as a means of battling his a wolfed out Scott who seemed pretty intent on tearing his throat out - Derek asked him what was wrong the moment he walked in the door.

"Nothing's wrong, I've just got a lot of homework to do." Stiles said with a reassuring smile before heading up to his room.

Derek decided to leave Stiles alone for a while and see if he was up for talking later - it was probably just Lydia ignoring him or something he thought as he left the house. Derek headed filled the Camero up with fuel and bought a few groceries - as a werewolf he had an exceptionally fast metabolism and huge appetite and felt guilty for eating the Stilinski's out of house and home.

By the time Derek had arrived back and put the shopping away he'd been gone over an hour and Stiles was still in his room - Derek could feel his nervous energy vibrating around the house. Derek knew something was wrong and it was more than just teenage girl trouble. Stiles was quiet - and quiet for Stiles wasn't good. Derek headed up stairs, leant against the frame of Stiles's bedroom door and watched him work on his homework for a few moments. "Going to tell me what's up then?" he asked.

"Nothing's up." Stiles replied with a shrug.

Derek's eyebrows rose. "Come on Stiles, I've known you how long?" he said entering the room and sitting down on the edge of the bed. "I don't have to listen to your heart to know when you're lying."

Stiles sighed. "Seriously Der it's nothing."

Derek noticed the tears sparkling in Stiles's eyes. "I thought I'd cook tonight, to say thanks for letting me stay and everything." he said deciding to change the subject - Stiles would talk when he was ready to talk.

Stiles turned and looked at Derek, grateful for the subject change. "Can you cook?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"Of course I can cook." Derek replied. "Mom taught me." he added, the familiar sadness creeping over his heart at the thought of her.

Stiles swallowed hard. "My mom was a good cook too." he said climbing off his desk chair and sitting down on the bed beside Derek.

Derek clasped Stiles's hand tightly - in an odd way he found it comforting that he and Stiles's could talk about these things and know the other knew exactly how they felt. "I remember. " he nodded. "Her apple pie was amazing, she used to let me have double helpings."

"It's my favourite, my dad's too." Stiles said deciding it was about time he learnt to make it himself - the shop bought version just wasn't the same and he and his father always found it depressing. "So what's on the menu tonight?" he asked.

"Steak." Derek replied. "With all the trimmings and I even bought curly fries for you."

"Awesome." Stiles grinned.

Derek rubbed the pad of his thumb over the back over the back of Stiles's hand. "So going to tell me what's up then?" he asked.

Stiles sighed knowing it was pointless trying to keep anything from Derek. "Okay but promise you're not going to freak out or anything?"

"Now you've got me really worried." Derek said feeling the conversation turn serious.

Stiles slid off the bed and paced his bedroom. "It's Scott." he eventually said. "You're right he can't control the shift - especially if he gets angry or is anywhere near Allison - oh by the way I didn't tell you she was an Argent did I?" he said with raised eyebrows. "How fricking fantastic is that?"

"What happened?" Derek asked ignoring the fact Scott was dating an Argent for the moment because he was more concerned about Stiles at the moment. "Did he hurt you?"

Stiles shook his head. "No, he just scared the crap out of me." he muttered. "I had to cool him off with a fire extinguisher."

Derek's teeth gritted together. "He's out of control." he said getting up and heading out of the room.

Stiles ran down the stairs after him. "What are you doing?" he asked watching as Derek pulled on his leather coat. "You said you weren't going to do anything."

"I'm just going to talk to him." Derek said picking up his car keys. "I have to make him see sense, he needs to let me teach him how to control it."

"Okay but ... be nice Derek okay?" Stiles said anxiously.

Derek just rolled his eyes before heading out of the house - when was he not nice?

When the door slammed closed Stiles pulled his mobile phone out and found Scott's number - but he stopped before he called, if he told Scott that Derek was on his way over Scott would want to know how he knew and that meant telling him everything. Stiles sighed and pocketed his phone, that was only going to cause more trouble so he just had to trust Derek to go easy on Scott.

Stiles ran up to his room and turned on his computer, he sent Scott and invitation to video chat and was relieved to see him appear on screen a few moments later. "Hey buddy what's up?" he said looking a little stressed. "I'm completely screwed for this test tomorrow." he sighed.

Derek was going to show up any moment and Stiles knew he just had to keep Scott talking.

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_Past ..._

_As they approached the clearing in which the Hale house stood Derek came to a halt. "Your dad is here." he said to Stiles who'd stopped beside him._

_Stiles glanced at Derek. "Are you sure?" he asked with a frown, his dad wasn't due to pick him up for a couple more hours. _

_"I'm sure." Derek nodded. Stiles just shrugged and trudged on ahead. _

_Cora caught up with Derek and glanced up at him anxiously. "Do you feel that?" she asked. Derek just nodded knowing instantly that something was wrong - he and Cora could feel waves of despair radiating from the Hale house. "What's happened?" Cora asked grabbing hold of her elder brother's hand._

_Derek shook his head, unsure, but then he quickly realised what it must be. "Stiles wait!" he shouted breaking into a run, tugging Cora after him._


	7. Chapter 7

Present ...

Stiles was seething with rage and pacing the hallway waiting for Derek to return; he couldn't believe how he'd threatened Scott, especially after he'd told him to be nice. He'd seen everything thanks to the video chat - Derek shoving Scott against the wall, holding him by the neck and threatening to kill him if he tried to play the Lacrosse match on Saturday night. Stiles ran his hands over his head and sighed angrily - he shouldn't have told Derek and dealt with it himself, he knew this was how he'd react.

Where was Derek anyway - it had been ages since he'd left Scott's - why wasn't he home yet? Was he avoiding him because he knew he'd done wrong?

When Stiles finally saw the outline of Derek heading up the steps toward the front door Stiles wrenched it open. "What were you thinking?!" he shouted.

Derek pushed passed Stiles and headed through to the kitchen, dumping down the carrier bag he had with him down on the counter. "He needed to be told." he said simply.

"You threatened him!" Stiles raged.

"I needed to make sure he got the message." Derek said emptying out the carrier bag.

Stiles was about to rant some more, really lay into Derek, but then he looked at the contents that had come out of the carrier bag: flour, sugar, butter, apples. "What's all this?" he asked.

Derek shrugged his shoulders. "Though we could make apple pie like you suggested." he said heading for the fridge and pulling out the steaks he'd bought earlier. "You said it was you and your dad's favourite." he added.

At once all of Stiles's anger drained away and he sat down at the counter sighing a sadly. "It is." he nodded. "But I'll never be able to make it as good as mom's."

Derek glanced at the ingredients and realised he'd done the wrong thing - he was trying to do something nice for Stiles, to cheer him up, but he'd only gone and upset him by reminding him of his mother - how stupid of him. "Sorry, we can make something else." he said quickly putting the ingredients back in the carrier bag.

"No no I want to." Stiles said as he rubbed at his eyes - the last thing he wanted to do was cry in front of Derek; he'd done that enough as a kid. "Thanks, I'll err ... I'll go find a recipe online." he said heading out of the kitchen up to his room.

Derek just nodded, knowing Stiles didn't want him to see his tears. "I'll start dinner." he called after him.

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_Past ..._

_Derek ran to catch up with Stiles. "Something's wrong." he told him as they passed the police cruiser parked outside the house and climbed the steps up onto the porch._

_Stiles shook his head. "I'm sure it's just Lucas getting into trouble again." he said with a roll of his eyes as he let himself into the house. "Dad?" he called dumping his school bag down and glancing in the kitchen to find it empty. "Dad?"_

_"Stiles, sweetheart, why don't you go upstairs with Derek and Cora." Talia said appearing in the hallway, closing the living room door up behind her. "Derek, take him upstairs." she said smiling a little too forcefully at her son._

_Derek's eyes darted over his mother's and knew instantly what he suspected was true. Derek's heart sank, he sucked in a deep breath and knew he had to be strong now for Stiles - he was going to be devastated when he found out. "Come on Stiles." he said grabbing him by the elbow._

_Stiles glanced at Talia and could see she had been in tears - it shocked him because Talia was such a strong woman, the head of the Hale family, and she was usually so calm and controlled. "Where's my dad?" he asked slowly, a sense of dread overcoming him._

_"Stiles come on." Derek said pushing him toward the stairs._

_Stiles shook himself free, determined to find his father. He pushed past Derek and Talia and let himself into the living room, when he entered he saw his father sitting on the sofa with his head in his hands. "Dad?" he asked his whole body trembling and his breaths quickening as his pulse started to race. "Dad?" he asked again._

_The Sheriff lifted his head and Stiles saw that he was in tears - he'd never seen his father cry before and it frightened him. "I'm sorry son." he choked out. "There was nothing they could do."_

_Stiles's heart clenched in his chest and spasmed violently, his blood ran cold and suddenly he couldn't breathe. It felt like the room was swallowing him up. Stiles's vision blurred over and he leant on the wall for support as his knees gave way. Stiles tried to suck in air but the more he couldn't breathe the more he panicked creating a vicious circle. He could feel his heart drumming in his ears, drowning out everything around him._

_"Stiles sweetheart, breathe." Talia coaxed kneeling down beside him but the words didn't seem to be getting through; she glanced over at the Sheriff was still staring at nothing with a lost look in his eyes. "Derek -" she said looking up at her son who was leaning against the doorframe looking very much how he looked when he found out his father had been murdered. This only confirmed what she'd been expecting all along; Derek's wolf had chosen Stiles and because of this he could feel everything Stiles felt. "Derek." she said trying to snap him to his senses. "Stiles needs you." _

_Derek pushed himself off the doorframe and sank down beside Stiles. "Breathe." he said gripping his hand tightly. "Stiles just breathe." he coaxed rubbing his shoulder with his free hand._

_Stiles's wasn't sure what was happening; everything was blurred around him except Derek who was clear in front of him; the drumming in his ears had faded and Derek's voice was strong although everything else muffled. Stile stared down at Derek's hand wrapped tightly around his and noticed that the veins in his hand and those leading up his arm were jet black. "What are you doing?" he choked out as his breathing started to ease and his senses returned to normal._

_"I ... I dunno ..." Derek said glancing up at his mother for help._

_Talia glanced at the Sheriff but luckily he hadn't seen, not wanting to take any more chances she crouched down and eased Derek's hand away from Stiles's. "Mom what was that?" Derek asked._

_"It's okay sweetheart." Talia said pressing a kiss to Derek's temple. "It's nothing to worry about." she said stroking the back of his neck._

_Stiles pulled himself up off the floor and looked at his father; he then turned to look at Derek. "You promised me she would be okay." he said needing to blame someone although he knew it was not Derek's fault. "You promised!" he cried, tears breaking free and running down his cheeks. _

_"I'm sorry." Derek said reaching out to him._

_" I trusted you." Stiles spat batting Derek's hands away before fleeing the room._

_"Stiles!" Derek shouted, chasing after him followed by both Talia and the Sheriff who seemed to have come to his senses. The Sheriff pushed past the Hales and ran after his son as he fled the house._

_Talia held Derek back. "Stay, Stiles needs his father right now."_

_"He needs me." Derek protested. "I have to go, I can't leave him."_

_"Cora go up to your room." Talia said glancing at her youngest. "Now." she said in a tone that said not to argue. Cora did as she was told and quickly scooted upstairs. Talia steered Derek into the living room and sat him down on the sofa. "I know you want to go after him, but that's not a good idea son." she said. "He'll find out about you and that will put us all at risk."_

_Derek wanted to tell his mother that Stiles already knew that he was a werewolf like the rest of his family but he kept quiet - knowing he'd be in trouble if he revealed the truth. "What happened back there?" he asked stroking his fingers down his arm, his veins had returned to their usually light blue under the milky white skin of his arm but he could still see how black they'd been when he closed his eyes._

_"You took away Stiles's pain." Talia explained. "It's something werewolves can do for each other ... usually it only happens between close family members. That's what brought him out of the panic attack."_

_Derek glanced at his mother. "Stiles isn't a werewolf or family." he said not quite understanding._

_Talia swallowed hard. "Well it can happen between a werewolf and a human in certain circumstances."_

_"What circumstances?" Derek asked, his eyes darting over his mother's._

_Talia wasn't sure what to say, Derek was still young and Stiles even younger - he wasn't even a teenager yet. If she told Derek the truth, it would only complicate things and Stiles needed his friend right now. "It's nothing for you to worry about." she told him. "Stiles is your friend and you helped him, that's all you need to know."_

_Derek just nodded too drained to argue for more. "I felt it mom." he said leaning against her. "Everything he felt ... it was like losing dad all over again." he said rubbing at his eyes with his sleeve - he was determined not to cry. "What do I say to Stiles? How do I make this right?" he asked._

_Talia cuddled him close. "You can't sweetheart, you just need to be a good friend to him that's all - be there for him when he needs you."_

_Derek just nodded. _

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Present ...

"Something smells good." Stiles said bouncing into the kitchen a little while later appearing to be his usual chirpy self again, but his slightly red eyes and nose gave him away - not that Derek said anything of course. "I found a recipe, I'll start on the pie." he said grabbing the flour and moving over to a free area of the counter.

Derek checked on the curly fries which weren't quite done and so occupied himself with laying the table. "Look I'm sorry about how I handled things with Scott." he said grabbing some cutlery from the drawer. "I just panicked - if someone finds out werewolves exist then Scott and I are both in trouble. We don't need more hunters on top of the Argents. If he plays that Lacrosse match on Saturday he'll shift - he won't be able to help himself and someone will get hurt." he told Stiles. Derek thought about what Stiles had said earlier about how he'd managed to stop Scott, he squeezed his eyes shut and shook the thought of what could have happened if that fire extinguisher hadn't been to hand from his mind - Stiles was okay. He was safe. But he couldn't risk that happening again.

Stiles looked at Derek and could tell by the worried look on his face that he was the one Derek was concerned about. "I understand and I agree with you but there is one thing you need to know about Scott - if you back him into a corner he won't give him, he'll fight his way out of it. What you did - it's only going to make him more determined to play on Saturday."

Derek's eyes swept over Stiles's and he could tell he was perfectly serious. "We have to stop him." he said simply.

Stiles was about to reply but then he heard the front door slam closed and his father's tuneless whistling as he headed toward the kitchen. "We'll talk about this later." he said putting his finished pie to one side ready to bake later.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

_Past ..._

_The moment the school bell sounded, signalling the end of another long day, Derek leapt up from his desk, was first out of his classroom and sped down the school corridor to Stiles's classroom. He waited outside scanning each student as they poured out of the room but none of them were Stiles._

_"He wasn't in today either." Cora said, one of the last to leave the classroom._

_Derek just nodded. Stiles hadn't been at school all week, and of course Derek understood but he was worried because he hadn't answered any of his texts or phone calls. He could only assume that he was still mad, blaming him for what had happened to his mother even though it couldn't have possibly been his fault._

_"I've got notes from all our classes." Cora said gesturing to the notebook in her hand. "Shall I drop it round to him?" she asked. "Not that I'm expecting to want to look at it right now given what's happened but he'll need to catch up at some point."_

_"I'll go, you head home - it's a full moon tonight, Mom will want you home right away." Derek said taking the notebook. _

_Cora hovered hesitantly. "She'll want to know where you are, what do I say?" she asked._

_Derek just shrugged. "The truth, she'll know if you're lying anyway." he said. _

_Cora just nodded._

_Derek hurried to Stiles's house, a knot of anxiety tightening inside of him as he headed up the steps to the front door - he wasn't sure what he could say to make this all better but he had to try. Derek glanced up at the house, all of the curtains and blinds were closed, full bottles of milk were piling up on the doorstep and it didn't look as if any lights were on inside the house either. Derek knocked loudly and waited patiently; he listened carefully but couldn't hear any sound of movement from inside the house. Derek knew Stiles's was home - he could hear the steady, slow beat of his heart - perhaps he was asleep and not ignoring him, he hoped._

_Derek knocked again and then backed away and peered up at Stiles's bedroom window - he could have sworn he'd seen the curtains twitch - ignoring him them - he concluded. "STILES!" he shouted. "STILES OPEN UP!"_

_The window suddenly opened and Stiles peered down, a furious look on his face. "Shut up, Dad's asleep for the first time in days." he hissed._

_"Let me in then." Derek called back. _

_Stiles sighed and shook his head. "I want to be on my own." he replied and before Derek had a chance to reply the window was closed and Stiles disappeared. Derek knew he shouldn't push Stiles at a time like this and so decided to leave it for a day or two; he grabbed a pen from his school bag scribbled a note to him and stuck it inside the cover of the notebook which he then pushed through the letter box._

_As Derek walked away his mobile phone buzzed in his pocket. "Mom I'm on my way home I swear." he said before his mother even had a chance to say a word._

_"I understand why you had to go over to Stiles, believe me I do, but please be home before the moon is up."_

_"I will." Derek replied. "... and thanks for not being angry."_

_"Like I said I understand." Talia replied. "Don't be long." she added before cutting the call._

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Present ...

"Derek it was very kind of you to cook." The Sheriff said handing him a can of beer as they sat down to eat their dinner.

"Can't I have a beer?" Stiles asked when his dad passed him a can of soda - sugar free none the less.

The Sheriff just chuckled. "You're 16 Stiles." he reminded his son.

"It's not like I haven't -" Stiles started to argue but he quickly shut up when his father glared at him.

Over dinner Stiles's quizzed his father on the status of his investigation into the dead girl that had been found in the woods - who was she? Was it murder? Had they found the other half of her body yet? Derek ate in silence and Stiles knew he was listening carefully to the Sheriff's deliberately vague answers - hoping for information that could help him track down the werewolf responsible for her death.

"Stiles enough with the questions I get them enough at work, I don't need them at home too." The Sheriff said as he finished his meal. "That was great Derek, sure beats takeout and ready meals eh Stiles?"

Stiles crossed his arms - clearly the meals he prepared weren't good enough. "Thanks a lot." he said getting up and throwing his plate into the dishwasher with a clatter.

The Sheriff rolled his eyes at Derek. "Teenagers eh?" he sighed.

Derek just smiled back politely but glanced worryingly at Stiles who stormed out of the room. The Sheriff rubbed his hands over his forehead. "I'd better go and talk to him." he said pushed back his chair and getting up.

"He's just had a bad day at school." Derek said clearing away the rest of the dishes.

The Sheriff smiled at Derek. "I'm glad you're here Derek, Stiles could use some company - he spends so much time on his own." he said with a sad sigh before leaving the room and going in search of his son.

As Derek loaded the dishwasher he couldn't help but feel a little guilty, Stiles was pissed with him for the way he'd treated Scott, but he couldn't help it - he needed to get the message through to Scott before he ended up hurting someone else. Hurting Stiles.

Derek gripped the edge of the counter top, his nails extending to sharp points and digging in to the wood as he thought of Stiles having to use a fire extinguisher to stop Scott. Derek saw a flash of blue reflecting in the polished silver kettle and knew it was his eyes. Derek knew he had to calm down, to shift back, but he couldn't because all he could think about was what would have happened if the fire extinguisher hadn't been there; would Scott had stopped or would he had ripped his friend to shreds? A shiver ran down his spine at the thought. He just had to hope that Stiles wasn't right about his actions only making Scott more determined to play the Lacrosse match - otherwise he'd have to take even more drastic action.

Action that might drive Stiles away from him, but at least he'd be safe.

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_Past ..._

_After dragging himself out of bed to open the window and confront Derek, Stiles showered and dressed for the first time in days, a week actually. Ever since he'd found out his mother had died he'd done nothing but remain in his room, buried under the covers hoping that one day he'd just wake and find this was all just a horrible nightmare. That he'd wake to find his Mom was still alive and to a house was filled with the scent of her signature apple pie. But he only ever woke to the sound of his father sobbing in the next room, the smell of stale takeaways and an over flowing kitchen bin. _

_Stiles had to get dressed, he had to go out, because being in the house was suffocating - it was like a big black hole of despair trying to drown him and if he didn't break free for a while he knew it would win._

_"Dad." Stiles said pushing open his father's bedroom door. "I'm going to the store, do you want anything?" he asked noticing the half empty bottle of whiskey beside the bed. "Dad?" _

_The Sheriff lifted his head from the pillow and his bleary eyes peered over at Stiles. "No ..." he mumbled shaking his head. "Wait, painkillers." he mumbled before dropping his head back down on the pillow._

_"Okay, I won't be long." Stiles said, creeping into the room as his father started to snore; he picked up the whiskey bottle took it downstairs to the drinks cabinet in the dining room. Stiles looked at the bottle and with shaking hands lifted it to his lips, he took a large swig of the liquor, choked at the burn of it and then hastily stuffed it into the drinks cabinet. Stiles wiped his sleeve over his face - why his father turned to it he didn't know, it was disgusting!_

_Stiles grabbed some money from his father's wallet, knowing he wouldn't mind, and then stuffed his feet into his trainers. He noticed the notebook sitting on the doorstep with a pile of unopened post that had accumulated over the last week; he picked the pile up and threw it along with the notebook on the sideboard and grabbed his coat. Stiles bent down to pick up a piece of paper which had fluttered out from the notebook and landed on the hallway floor; he unfolded the note and knew straightaway by the handwriting that it was from Derek. Stiles read the letter before folding it and putting it in his jacket pocket _

_As he left the house he called Derek's number._

_"Stiles I'm so glad you called!" Derek cried answering after the first ring._

_"I got your note, I'm sorry I blamed you - it's not your fault." Stiles said hating himself for shutting Derek out and blaming him for something out of his control. "I was just so angry and I took it out on you, I'm sorry." _

_"I understand Stiles."_

_Stiles knew Derek wasn't just saying this to comfort him - he really did understand because he'd gone through the exact same thing when his father was murdered. "Can you come over?" Stiles asked. "I need someone to talk to, Dad won't and I can't keep this bottled up anymore."_

_Derek heard the crack in his voice; he peered out of his bedroom window and looked up at the sky, the sun had almost set and soon the moon would be up and out in its entirety. "When?" he asked ignoring the wolf inside of him scratching to get out._

_"I'm just going to the store, then I'll be home." Stiles replied._

_"I'll meet you at the store." Derek said before cutting the call; he opened his bedroom window and was about to climb out when he felt a firm grip on his shoulder._

_"Oh no you're not going anywhere, not tonight." Laura said pulling her brother back into the room._

_"Get off me!" Derek shouted pushing against her, but his sister was stronger than him, even more so than usual due to the effect of the full moon._

_Laura did not let go of Derek. "I know you want to sneak off and see your boyfriend but you can do that tomorrow. Tonight is a full moon." she said dragging him out of his room and pushing him toward the stairs. _

_"Stiles needs someone to talk to." Derek growled. "And he's not my boyfriend!"_

_"Whatever." Laura said with a roll of her eyes. "I found him trying to sneak out of his window." she told her mother who met them at the bottom of the stairs._

_Talia's eyes grew wide. "What were you thinking?! It's a full moon tonight."_

_"I know." Derek replied sick of being constantly reminded. _

_"Stiles rang and of course Derek was about to go running to him." Laura replied crossing her arms. _

_Derek's eyes flashed yellow. "It's not like that." he snapped at his sister. _

_"You were right when you said this would make him take risks." Laura said to her mother._

_Talia just nodded._

_"Stop talking about me like I'm not even here!" Derek shouted, he felt his blood start to pump furiously around his body, he should be at Stiles's by now. "Mom I told Stiles I'd go over there, he needs someone to talk to. He's not coping, neither is his Dad. I can't bail on him now."_

_Talia reached out and slid her arm around her sons shoulder. "I understand Derek." she said calming him down with her touch alone. "But my priority is to protect you. Tomorrow you can go over there, but tonight you need to stay here. Your uncle, Laura, Lucas and I will guard the house from Hunters, you and Cora will be safe here - Cora is already chained up downstairs, you need to be down there too."_

_"I don't need to be chained up. I told you I'm in control." Derek snapped._

_"And I told you last time that I will assess you on a month by month basis, you've got better but you're not ready yet - maybe next month." Talia said steering him toward the basement. "Laura find Lucas and Peter, I want to talk to them before we head out." she said over her shoulder. "Tonight we are protecting the house, we are not going after the Argents." she said firmly._

_Laura nodded and headed off._

_Derek's phone buzzed in his pocket and he glanced at the message from Stiles as he headed down the basement steps. _"I'm at the store, are you coming?" _Stiles had asked._

"I'm coming but got held up, I'll meet you at your house." Derek replied.

"OK."

_Talia steered Derek toward a chair and sat him down. "I'm sorry sweetheart, I just need to protect you." she said handcuffing him to the chair which was bolted to the floor. "You can see Stiles tomorrow." she said pressing a kiss to his forehead._

_Derek watched as his mother checked on Cora; Cora was still young and unable to fully shift into a full wolf. The full moon still had an effect on her and she sat struggling to break free from the chains - her eyes yellow and growling at her mother. Talia managed to calm her daughter a little and then left the basement. Derek glanced at his sister - he was determined not to let the same happen to him as it had during the last full moon because tonight he needed to stay in control, he needed to get to Stiles. He was not going to let him down._

_Derek had never managed to shift fully during a full moon but tonight he knew he had to - it was the only way he could get free from his restraints. The last time he'd managed to do it he'd done it unconsciously - after Stiles had gone missing and he'd breathed in the scent of his hoody so that he could track him. The time before that was when Stiles had fallen from a tree and broken his ankle, Derek had turned full wolf so he could run faster and get to the Hale house to get help. _

_In fact every time he'd managed to fully shift it had been because of Stiles._

_He was the key to this, Derek realised._

_Derek closed his eyes and let Stiles voice fill his head: _"I need someone to talk to, Dad won't and ... I can't keep this bottled up anymore."_ he remembered him saying. Derek let every desperate word fill his head, noted every crack in Stiles's voice, pictured his face - his eyes filling with tears._

_Derek felt a surge of energy run through his body, energy he knew was from the moon. His heart contracted so hard it made him gasp for air. Derek opened his eyes and suddenly everything was in sharp focus. Derek looked down and saw two shaggy black paws in front of him and easily stepped out of his chains. He could hear better too - he could hear ever drip of the kitchen tap upstairs, the of the radio Lucas had left on in his room at the very top of the house and the Cora's heart beat thumping loudly in his ears. He could smell her too, and not just her perfume or the faint trace of her shampoo - she smelt of family, she smelt of pack. _

_"Derek." Cora mumbled looking at him through her own yellow eyes. "Don't leave me."_

_Derek nuzzled his sister's leg with his muzzle, reassuring her that he would be okay and then he left, swiftly climbing the stairs out of the basement and heading through the house. _

_Derek slipped out of the back door - he could smell and hear his family in the woods around him, circling the house, communicating with each other with low growls and high pitched whines - warning each other of threats close by. Derek kept away from them, slipping away from the house through the woods and heading toward town. Toward Stiles_


End file.
